Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

These are a little bit of heaven. They smell and taste just like autumn - you've got soft apple chunks, 'chewy' dried cranberries, crunchy pumpkin seeds and the warming cinnamon flavour. These muffins are perfect for this time of year - they are super moist and crisp on top just the way I like them. They kind of taste like Starbucks pumpkin spiced lattes which are so yummy, I think it must just be the cinnamon.These are honestly one of my favourite baking creations to date, I will be coming back to this recipe every autumn now. If you make them please have one straight from the oven for me! mm mm

Makes 8 muffins

- 200g plain flour

- 50g soft brown sugar (plus extra for the topping)

- 100g caster sugar

- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder

- pinch of salt

- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (plus extra for the topping)

- 100ml milk

- 80ml sunflower oil

- 1 large egg, beaten

- few drops of vanilla essence

- 1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped

- 75g dried cranberries

- 50-75g pumpkin seeds (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees / gas mark 6.

2. Mix together all the dried ingredients in a large mixing bowl (flour, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon)

3. In a jug, mix together the milk, oil and beaten egg until combined.

4. Gradually stir in the mixture in the jug into the dry ingredients until combined, then add in the apple chunks and mix together.

5. Next, stir in the dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, if using, and mix until well combined.

6. Line a muffin tin with muffin cases and spoon the mixture into them.

7. Fill them quite full, then place in the oven for around 20 minutes or until golden grown on top.

8. When they are done, take them out of the oven but leave them in the tray for a few minutes while you mix together some brown sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl, for the topping.

9. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top of each muffin whilst still hot, this just makes them look nicer and gives extra flavour and sweetness! Place on a wired tray to cool or enjoy warm from the oven.

I accidentally ate one when it was hot out of the oven (don't worry, it was a mis-shapen one because it didn't fit in the muffin tray). It was so delicious - this is what it looked like inside, of course the other muffins looked better because they weren't flat and squished.  

Enjoy :)

Cheddar, bacon and golden syrup muffins

'A savoury muffin!? Life is full of enough disappointments...' - a quote from Miranda which I totally disagree with. I have had a few savoury muffins in my time (cheese, pesto etc.) and all have been delicious. These muffins are sort of American pancake style since it's sweet and savoury from the bacon and syrup, a combination which I think is amazing. They are soft and moist out the oven and are smoky from the bacon with that sweet tang from the syrup - to die for! They are perfect for a brunch. I would say, however, that they tend to dry out quickly and are not so good the next day, so I recommend eating them straight from the oven, or on that same day. I froze a few of these and defrosted them in the microwave so they were warm when I ate them - not quite as good as fresh but still delicious and a good way to preserve them if you've made too many to eat at one time! I got this recipe from my lovely sister who made these for me before.

Oh, and sorry that they look burnt in the picture - my oven at uni is very strong and although they look burnt, luckily they didn't taste it!

Makes 8

- 4 rashers smoked bacon, chopped

- 175g self-raising flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- pinch of salt

- 50g mature cheddar cheese, grated

- 75ml sunflower oil

- 1 egg

- 4 tbsp golden syrup

- 150ml milk

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.

2. Fry the bacon until crisp.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl, then stir in the grated cheese and cooked bacon.

4. Pour the oil into a jug and mix in the egg, milk and half the golden syrup until just combined.

5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 15 minutes until risen and golden brown. (A knife inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out clean)

6. Serve warm, with the remaining golden syrup drizzled on top.

Enjoy :)

Skinny chocolate and cranberry muffins

This is a recipe I got straight off the BBC Good Food website so I'm just going to link the recipe rather than writing it all out because I feel like it's copyright or something like that. I usually either create my own recipes or alter existing ones slightly but this time I didn't change a thing!

Here is the recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/252615/skinny-chocolate-and-cranberry-muffins

So first of all, how cute are these cupcakes cases!? I just got them from Sainsbury's the other day in Nottingham so they should be selling them in most stores around the country at the moment if you're looking for some pretty cases.

As you can see, the muffins didn't seem to rise very much which was a pain, but I guess it's because they're 'healthy'. Don't expect these to be some sort of miracle muffins that taste amazing but are really low in fat, because although they do taste good, they are not like normal cakes or muffins because they don't have the normal butter, sugar etc. The fats have been substituted for natural yogurt and oil, which is also why these muffins were quite dry after a few hours of cooling. What we did was just heat a muffin in the microwave for 10 seconds every time we wanted one, because the texture is just so much better when they're warm - it makes them more moist etc. I love the other textures in these from the cranberries, I think dried fruit in cakes is scrummy so that's definitely a plus. They also have a really strong chocolate flavour which makes these more appealing. Give them a try if you're trying to be healthy but still need a cake fix or something sweet, but don't expect them to be the best thing ever - there is a reason why cakes are so good - because of the fat and sugar in them!

Enjoy :)